


Flirt-ically Challenged

by missmichellebelle



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 07:30:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1379164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missmichellebelle/pseuds/missmichellebelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris smiles at him thankfully, but then still seems nervous about it. He takes another steadying breath, but still doesn't look up at Darren as he blurts out, "Will you flirt with me?"</p><p>And Darren is thankful, because he's not sure if he could convincingly lie about why he suddenly looks (and feels) so shocked.</p><p>All he can think is, <i>Fuck</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flirt-ically Challenged

**Author's Note:**

> Based very stupidly on my own inability to tell when someone is flirting with me.
> 
> Also I just. I don't know. It's late and this is kind of stupid and I'm sorry for its existence. XD

Darren isn't really sure what's going on. Just that Chris had come up to him, grabbed both of his hands, and said very desperately, "I need your help, can you come over?" and, well, that's all the explanation Darren had needed.

As he drives over, however, he finds his foot pressing more insistently against the gas pedal as his chest feels tighter and tighter. Because Chris had asked for his help, and Chris doesn't ask for help unless something is wrong.

Darren swallows dryly.

Chris hurries him inside when he gets there, ushering Darren into the living room as he fidgets with his hands and seems to radiate with nervous energy. Darren continues to send nervous glances at him, but doesn't say anything. They sit down, and Darren waits—Chris will talk when he's ready.

"Okay, I…" Chris pauses, and takes a moment to breathe. Darren can't help but lean closer, eyebrows knit together as he waits as patiently as he can manage. He has no idea what's going on, but if Chris needs him… Well, Darren is there to help, no matter what. "I…" Chris stares at his hands, and Darren can tell that whatever this is, it isn't easy for him to get out. It just makes the dread in Darren's stomach more present.

When Chris still hasn't said anything, Darren puts his hand on Chris's knee and smiles as encouragingly as he can.

"Chris, it's me. You're my best friend—"

"And you're mine," Chris is quick to assure.

"Exactly. Whatever it is, you can ask me, okay?" Darren almost goes as far as to say, _When have I ever let you down?_ , but… Well, that's not a road that either of them probably wants to go down right now.

"Okay." Chris smiles at him thankfully, but then still seems nervous about it. He takes another steadying breath, but still doesn't look up at Darren as he blurts out, "Will you flirt with me?"

And Darren is thankful, because he's not sure if he could convincingly lie about why he suddenly looks (and feels) so shocked.

All he can think is, _Fuck_.

"…you want me to flirt with you?" Darren tries to clarify, and Chris glances up, looking sheepish and ashamed as he nods once. "Um… Why?" More importantly, Darren wants to say, _But I do flirt with you. All the time. Seriously, all the time. As often as I can._

It's hard not to flirt with someone when you're _kind of_ crazy about them, especially if that's the only way you can kind of show them. Darren isn't really the sort of person to be mum on the subject of his feelings, but with Chris things are… Different. Darren is pretty sure that if he tried to ask Chris out on a date, Chris would just laugh it off as some kind of Darren-brand joke.

In fact, Darren is sure of it—it happened the first three times Darren tried.

For as smart as Chris is, he is frustratingly oblivious sometimes.

"Okay, this is… Really embarrassing, but when I was at work earlier, there was this guy—"

Darren's gut clenches up with a sudden rush of jealousy, and he forces it back down.

"—and we were, I don't know, we were just talking, I guess? And then he left and Tracy came up to me and _smacked_ me because apparently he'd been flirting with me?" Chris screws his eyebrows together. "But I'm pretty sure he was just being nice, and then I realized that I don't… I don't know if I know the difference?"

He looks so distressed that Darren can easily ignore his own jealousy.

It's not really surprising to Darren—after all, Chris is oblivious. But he's also young, and Darren is pretty sure he's never had a boyfriend. If he has, he's never mentioned it, and he's been single for as long as they've been friends.

"Okay, so… Where do I play into this?" Darren prompts, and Chris gives him the most relieved and thankful smile, and Darren just smiles back—best friends, and Chris still doesn't think that Darren won't make fun of his most vulnerable moments. So Darren will just have to keep proving that he won't, time and time again.

"I figure… You like to flirt."

Darren blinks.

"Maybe if you flirted with me _a lot_ , and _often_ , I might be able to recognize when other people do it," Chris mumbles.

It's very hard not to point out that Darren already does that.

"…you think I flirt a lot?" Darren asks, trying to ignore the way his stomach suddenly feels like it's lined with lead. Chris wants Darren to help him so that Chris can, essentially, know when a guy is interested in him. Darren wishes there was a way he could get out of this, but… Even if there was, he's pretty sure he wouldn't use it. Chris went out of his way to ask for help, and Darren isn't going to leave Chris hanging when he needs him. Not ever.

"I know you flirt a lot," Chris deadpans, and then frowns. "How do I know when you're flirting with other people but not when people are flirting with me? How does that even make sense?"

Darren knows he secretly hopes it's because Chris is maybe latently jealous, but it's probably more likely that Chris is just judgmental.

"…I don't know, do you… Do you think it'll help?" Chris asks, sounding unsure again, and Darren just wants to make it go away—for Chris to be confident again.

"If you think it'll help, it's worth a shot, right?" Darren asks. His smile this time is a little more forced, knowing what he's about to do. But it's worth it, at least in that moment, for the way Chris smiles.

"Okay." Chris sits up straight and looks Darren straight in the eye. "I'm ready when you are." Chris is already slightly flushed, despite the fact that Darren hasn't even said anything yet, and Darren wonders just how embarrassed he is to willingly be in this position.

This might be hard for some people, but Darren knows he won't have trouble with it. Chris is right—Darren does flirt a lot, although most of the time it's unintentional. It's fun, and it makes people smile, and most of the time it's absolutely harmless. Darren makes a note to remind Chris of that last thing. Just because someone flirts with him doesn't necessarily mean they plan to woo him.

And Chris definitely deserves some first-class wooing.

"Is that shirt new?" Darren asks, resting back against the couch, and Chris looks momentarily confused. He looks down at himself.

"Um, I don't think so? Pretty sure I've had it for a few years…"

"Oh, really? It looks really great on you." Darren smiles easily at Chris—flirting with him is easy, as long as Darren doesn't think too hard about the reasons behind their little exercise. "It really brings out the color of your eyes."

"Oh, um, thanks?" Chris continues to look more and more baffled by their conversation—well, by the things Darren is saying. It's hardly a conversation yet, especially when Chris is barely participating in it.

"No need to thank me, I'm just stating the truth." Darren shrugs, but grins at Chris. "Are you okay? You look a little tense."

"Oh, no, I'm fine—"

"Are you sure? I don't mean to brag or anything, but I kind of have magic hands."

"…magic hands?"

"Yep. I'd be happy to give you a massage, if you're interested?"

"I—no, thanks, I'm fine."

"If you're sure, but the offer is always open, if you're interested." Darren dips his head purposefully just so he can look up through is eyelashes—he's laying it on _thick_ , but Chris still seems absolutely unaware.

Chris sighs heavily.

"This isn't working. You're just acting like you always do." Chris looks momentarily miserable, and it takes a lot of willpower for Darren not to groan into his hands—he always acts like this because he's _always flirting with Chris_. How has Chris not made that connection yet?

Darren takes a deep breath, and figures, why not?

"Okay, I have another idea," Darren says, surprised at the way his stomach flutters with nerves. But that's just what Chris does to him.

"What is it?" Chris scoots a little closer, interested, and Darren just looks at him for a moment, catalogues how important Chris and their friendship is to him. There's probably a lot of thinking that generally goes into moments like this, but Darren… Well, he can't think about it. Some things just need to be done without knowing all the risks.

Besides, Chris kind of makes him a little stupid, and more impulsive than he generally is.

"Just trust me, okay?" Darren looks into Chris's eyes, and Chris doesn't even hesitate as he nods.

He does, however, look surprised as Darren's hands come up to cup his face. He probably even looks more surprised when Darren leans in and kisses him, but Darren's eyes are closed, so he can't really tell aside from the way Chris sort of… Freezes.

When Darren pulls back after a few seconds, Chris's eyes are surprisingly closed, but his mouth just sort of… Hangs open. Darren isn't sure where his stomach is anymore, but it suddenly doesn't even feel like he _has_ one anymore.

The seconds it takes for Chris to open his eyes feel like forever.

"…okay, that just happened," Chris mumbles, staring straight at Darren although not really seeming to see him. "You just kissed me."

"…yeah, I did." Darren wonders if Chris will tell him to leave. If Darren took a chance and jumped and fell flat on his face. If Darren has just screwed up the best thing in his life.

Chris is silent for a few more moments, and then says, "I'm pretty sure I'd know someone was flirting with me if they kissed me, Dare. I think that's a little obvious."

And Darren laughs—he can't help it. He just _kissed_ Chris and Chris is still just playing it off. So this time, when Darren takes Chris's surprised face in his hands, he can't help but grin.

"Then I should have done this a long time ago," he whispers, and kisses Chris again. Chris does freeze again this time, but not for as long—in fact, after a few seconds, not only does his body loosen, but he actually kisses Darren _back_.

When they part, Darren doesn't dare open his eyes, but he can feel Chris's breath on his lips, can feel where Chris's hand is gripping the fabric of his shirt.

"Oh…" Chris mumbles, and Darren smiles. "You… _Oh_."

"Yeah, I _oh_ ," Darren chuckles, and then can't stop himself from leaning back in to kiss Chris again because… _Fuck_ , he's kissing Chris, and how long has he been _thinking_ about this? Darren's entire body feels electric, especially when Chris kisses back, and _seriously_ , why didn't he do this sooner? He wants to keep going, doesn't want to stop, but at the same time… This is kind of big. It's actually kind of _huge_ , and it's kind of hard to talk about it when their mouths are otherwise occupied.

It's a good and a bad thing—if Chris can't talk, he can't tell Darren that this ultimately isn't going to work. Kissing is one thing, after all… But dating?

"…this is okay, right?" Darren finally asks when they break apart, even though he doesn't want to, even though he's kind of terrified of the answer.

Again, it takes Chris a few moments, and then Darren feels Chris's nose against his cheek.

"Yeah, I… I kind of… _oh_ , too," Chris admits, and Darren's eyes finally fly open.

" _Really?_ " Darren definitely should have kissed Chris sooner, he is a fucking _idiot_. Chris laughs a little bit, and nods.

"I guess we both kind of suck at this, huh?" Chris asks, and Darren grins. He's never thought he was particularly bad at telling when people were interested in him, but then again, Chris isn't exactly _people_. He never has been, and he never will be.

"I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, huh?"

And Darren grins, big and goofy and probably stupid, but it's okay—Chris just smiles back at him.

"Guess so."

**Author's Note:**

> [Read & Reblog on Tumblr?](http://missmichellebelle.tumblr.com/post/80953147928/flirt-ically-challeneged)


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